Gaten ved parken er smal.

The street by the park is narrow.

Breakdown of Gaten ved parken er smal.

• være: to be
• gaten: the street
• parken: the park
• ved: by
• smal: narrow

Questions & Answers about Gaten ved parken er smal.

Why is gaten used instead of gate?

Gate is the indefinite form (“a street”), while gaten is the definite singular (“the street”). In Norwegian Bokmål you mark definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun: gate → gaten.

Why does parken end with -en? Could you say en park instead?

Just like gaten, parken is the definite form (“the park”). If you wanted “a park,” you’d say en park:
• Gaten ved en park er smal. (The street by a park is narrow.)

I’ve heard feminine nouns can also take -a in Bokmål. Why isn’t it gata ved parken er smal?

Many feminine nouns allow two definite endings in Bokmål:
• -en (common/weak): gaten, jenten, bilen
• -a (feminine/strong): gata, jenta, bila
Both Gaten ved parken er smal and Gata ved parken er smal are correct.

Why is the adjective smal not smale, smalt, or smalene?

Adjectives in Norwegian change form only when used attributively (before a noun) and must agree in gender/number/definiteness. Here smal is used predicatively (after the verb er), so it stays in its base form:
• Gaten er smal.
If you made it attributive with a definite noun, you’d say den smale gaten (with an –e). In plural predicative you’d say er smale.

Could I move smal in front of gaten and say smal gaten ved parken?

No. If you place the adjective before a definite noun, it must take the –e ending and you need a demonstrative article:
• den smale gaten ved parken er smal.
Placing smal directly before gaten without den and without –e is ungrammatical.

What does ved mean, and why is it used here?

Ved is a preposition meaning “by,” “beside,” or “next to.” You use it with a noun in any form:
• ved parken (by the park)
• ved en innsjø (by a lake)

Why is the word order Gaten ved parken er smal? Can I start with Ved parken?

Norwegian follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must come in second position. You can front different elements as long as er stays second. Examples:

1. Gaten ved parken (subject) ­– er (verb) – smal.
2. Ved parken (adverbial) – er (verb) – gaten smal.

How would I say this in the plural?

You change each noun to the plural definite and adjust the adjective:
gatene ved parkene er smale
(the streets by the parks are narrow)